Collective responses to rising water challenges

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Global business leaders must understand their business value at risk from water related issues and implement strategic plans to help mitigate these risks. Increased competition for water, a finite and irreplaceable resource, requires prompt action now. This is just one of the findings in the 2012 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global Water Report, prepared by Deloitte.

Produced for 470 investors representing $50 trillion in assets, and based on information submitted to CDP by 185 Global 500 companies, the 2012 report reveals that over half the respondents (53%, up from 38% in 2011) have experienced negative impacts from water-related challenges including water scarcity, rising compliance costs, regulatory uncertainty and poor water quality in the past five years. Yet despite the sharp rise in company reports of detrimental impacts, there was little year-over-year change in the percentage of companies that have board level oversight of water strategies, and no increase in the number of companies providing transparent water-related risk assessments to investors.